GPU BIOS Update Tools for Nvidia & AMD Graphics Cards

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All Graphics Cards or Discrete Video Cards come with their own BIOS which contains all the important settings for graphics cards regarding fan speed, clock speed, voltages, etc. Generally, graphics cards do not require BIOS updates unless you are facing some serious issues like instability, freezing, compatibility issues or other technical issues related to GPU. Also if your graphics card is voltage-locked and you want to increase the voltage of the card for overclocking purpose then you have to install custom or modded BIOS on your graphics card. Graphics Card BIOS or GPU BIOS is also known as VBIOS, Video BIOS or VGA BIOS.

Updating or Upgrading Graphics Card BIOS is not that hard but you should be very careful in updating VGA BIOS otherwise you might end up bricking your graphics card and render it useless. There are separate special tools available for both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards for GPU BIOS update. Here in this post, I am going to list down the tools that you can use to update the video BIOS of your graphics card.

Reasons to Update VGA BIOS of Graphics Card

Here the various reasons that may prompt you to update the VGA BIOS of your graphics card.

Stability Issues – If you are facing stability issues like artifacts on screen or monitor, frequent freezing, BSOD, crashing or restarts due to graphics card then you can try and flash the VGA BIOS of your graphics card to solve these issues.

Heating Issues – Sometimes a faulty or buggy GPU BIOS can cause unexpected heating of your graphics card even when the card is on stock frequencies. This is because the fan speed settings and temperature throttling settings might not be working properly on your current BIOS. In these circumstances, you may try and update the GPU BIOS to fix these issues regarding the overheating of your GPU.

Overclocking Issues – Some graphics cards come with locked voltage and due to this you cannot increase their voltage for higher overclocking and stability. So to unlock the voltage you can flash your GPU BIOS with a custom or modded BIOS for higher overclocking and better stability.

Locked Features / Options – To unlock some hidden features and options you can flash your VGA BIOS to get the extra benefits on some graphics cards.

Nvidia BIOS Update Tools

Here the best and top Nvidia BIOS Update tools for flashing your GPU BIOS.

NVFlash

NVFlash is the best NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility for updating the BIOS of your Nvidia Graphics Card. Using this tool you can update your VBIOS and can also save the current VBIOS for backup purposes. This is a command-line tool and you can flash multiple graphics cards using this Nvidia GPU BIOS update utility. This tool supports windows operating system and it can also be run from a bootable USB disk.

NiBiTor

NiBiTor or NVIDIA BIOS Editor is a utility for editing the BIOS of your graphics card. Using this VBIOS editing utility you can customize or make important changes to your VBIOS file regarding clock speeds, voltage, timings, boot settings, temperature settings and then can save the updated VBIOS to the hard drive for flashing purpose. Now after making the appropriate changes you can use NVFlash to flash your VBIOS using this new VBIOS file that you have saved with NiBiTor. NiBiTor is indeed a very powerful and advanced for VBIOS modding or tuning utility for Nvidia graphics cards.

AMD BIOS Update Tools

ATIFlash

This is the best and safest tool for updating BIOS of your AMD graphics card. This AMD VBIOS update tool has both a console/command line and GUI interface. You can use any one of them to update your AMD graphics card VBIOS. ATIFlash is previously known as ATIWinFlash but now it is renamed as ATIFlash only. This AMD VBIOS update tool can be run from windows and from bootable USB storage disk or drive. Just like NVFlash, you can backup your current VBIOS and update it to a newer one using the ATIFlash BIOS update tool.

GPU BIOS Collection

If you are unable to find your graphics card BIOS on your graphics card manufacturer website then you can get it from the link given below which has the largest collection of VGA BIOS files for both AMD and Nvidia Graphics Cards.

How to Flash BIOS of Nvidia and AMD Graphics Cards

Here is a simple and brief guide on how you can successfully update the BIOS of your Nvidia and AMD graphics card.

1. Download the New BIOS

The first step is to download the new BIOS for your graphics card. You can check your graphics card model and current VBIOS version using graphics card information tools like GPU-Z and then look for the correct BIOS on the graphics card manufacturer website or on other reliable websites. After finding your GPU BIOS, save to your hard drive. The BIOS file generally has the .ROM extension to it.

2. Download BIOS Update Tools

Now download the BIOS update tools for flashing your graphics card VBIOS. For Nvidia graphics card you have to download NVFlash and for AMD graphics card you have to download ATIFlash to update your VBIOS.

3. Backup & Update your GPU BIOS

Now make a backup of your current VBIOS using these GPU BIOS Update tools because if anything goes wrong with the new VBIOS then you can safely roll back to your older VBIOS. You can also create a backup of your current GPU BIOS using GPU-Z. After backing up your current BIOS you can now flash your BIOS to the newer one by executing the following commands.

For Nvidia Graphics Cards [NVFlash]

nvflash [options] <filename>

For AMD Graphics Cards [ATIFlash]

atiflash [options] <filename>

4. Test the New BIOS

After successfully updating the BIOS or Firmware of your graphics card, you can test it by overclocking and by playing games to see if everything is working normally or not. If you encounter stability issues or an unexpected rise in graphics card temperature then you should roll back to your older VBIOS that you have saved earlier in step 3.

Updating graphics card BIOS or VBIOS is pretty easy and safe if you do it correctly. Generally, graphics cards do not require BIOS update unless you are an advanced user or enthusiast who want something extra from the graphics card, or you are facing some serious issues with your graphics card. With the right tools, VBIOS version and procedure you can update the VBIOS without any problems. If you still have any queries regarding GPU BIOS or VGA BIOS update then you can ask me that by leaving a comment below.

About The Author

I am a PC Gamer and a Hardware Enthusiast. I love Graphics Cards and I have been digging them since GeForce 3 series. I have done M.Tech in IT and B.E. in Computer Science & Engineering.

32 Comments

Berry DavidSeptember 2, 2018

I’ve been digging for way to flash the motherboard of a SAMSUNG NP275E4E PC. What tool supports firmware for these amd64 MB? Reason I wish to flash is I expect a rootkit has taken control of bios or a linux firmware-update went wrong along the way. The system only boots off an x32 bit ROM now even when the LONG_BIT is set to 64. Any help you can give me?

Akshat thanks for your free advice. I was thinking it was a VBIOS issue because the screen is black/blank, and only error that shows is “amd64 microcode is not compatible with ATI.” Even booting incompatibility mode I couldn’t get a POST screen. I have talked to the manufacture “Samsung” doesn’t have bios tools to help with these new mircode update-issues. It’s a compatibility problem between the VBIOS and the CPU bios. The only work around I am aware of is to disable ucode checking during post or to turn off ucode checking by adding “dis_ucode_ldr,” to the GRUB post screen. It only disables checking and doesn’t really fix anything. The Debian developers promise better tools in the future to manage firmware compatibility rather than having ISO files install falutly microcode.

Same gpu… same issue.. My card was used for mining and I need a stock vbios to reset timings and clock speeds. this is the only thing I could find, It’s an unverified bios though but looks like it has the same values as listed on the manufacturer’s website so it seems legit. https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/204373/204373
I will use it if I don’t find anything else.

Hi,
Some softwares are specifically made for Nvidia or AMD.
I use such software:
blenderrender = AMD
ebsynth = Nvidia
my questions are:
can i combine these gpu’s in one system?
can i switch between gpu in a running windows or linux system (I use both)
can i turn a gpu card off in software to prevent
my electric bill going through the roof

Yes it is possible to use both (Nvidia & AMD) cards in one system and can specify in your software settings on which card it should use. You can disable one card in the device manager if you don’t want to use it for the time being.

I have a problem with my gpu one day when I finished working on the PC I turned it off as usual but it took about 10min to turn off with the black screen when I turn it back on the gpu fans didn’t want to turn. the fan connects it to another gpu and it works, i think the problem would be solved if I reinstall the bios or it would be a problem with the gpu itself something physical

G’Day Akshat, bought a second hand Sapphire RX570 Pulse 8 GDDR5 which the Device manager recognises, but with a yellow triangle – “Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)”.
GPU-Z says it is a Radeon RX 570 Series, however vBIOS version and Device ID claim that it is an RX580 card!
The Sensors tab shows both GPU and Memory clock to be 0.0MHz, GPU and Memory Controller Load both at 100%. GPU Power Draw shows a ridiculous 6.46 GW and VDDC Power Draw 639 kW, yet Temperature is only around 40 deg.
Trying to flash any RX570 bios exits early with “SubsystemIDs mismatch”.
Is there a way to force flash an RX570 vbios, even at the risk of bricking, because the card is of little use as it is.

I suggest you to try older AMD graphics drivers for this card and see if it works or not. Also, something is very fishy with this card. Is this card previously used for mining purpose? Here is a great resource on force flashing VBIOS of AMD cards https://computingondemand.com/flash-gpu-bios/

Thank you Akshat,
Spent about 25 hours trying all kinds of different drivers, but to no avail.
Since i bought the card second hand i have no information on what was done to it.
Thasnk you very much for the link, but will contact Sapphire before force flashing.

Nick ChristoforidisFebruary 2, 2020

Thank you Akshat, it was very informative.
But do you think you could write something about flashing EFI to a PC card in order to use it in a Mac?

I mean, I want to flash a nVidia Geforce GT 710 and use it for Boot Screen purposes in a Mac-Mojave. How am I suppose to do that, safely? The card is working on a Mac but not as a native card with boot screen support.

Using GPU-Z try to find the ver of the GPU BIOS, it’s blank. This card under window 10 able to detect it but under device manager give error 10 and insuff system resources exist to complete the API. Updated the drivers and OS software.
When trying to use the nvflash64, it displayed the BIOS name. After flashed the BIOS. GPU-Z still unable to display the BIOS and the card still not usable.
Any remedy or solution for this? or it’s just a bad card?
Thanks

Ok. Which BIOS version are you using for flashing? Also, are the drivers getting installed correctly.

jerryMay 10, 2020

BIOS :86.06.62.00.14
DRIVER : 445.87

Akshat VermaMay 10, 2020

Ok and what new BIOS are you using to flash? Try force flash and you can search for the relevant BIOS at https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/

jerryMay 10, 2020

BRAND: msi P106-100

jerryMay 10, 2020

I am trying to flash the same BIOS version in order for it to show up in GPU-z..
I will try to force flash with other versions to see if it helps.
My question is if the GPU-z unable to display the BIOS ver, what’s that means?
Thanks

Akshat VermaMay 10, 2020

Are other parameters like GPU clock, memory size/speed, card name etc. are showing in the GPU-Z?

jerryMay 10, 2020

Yes ..Can’t recall all the details, but name, clock and others are all there..

Akshat VermaMay 10, 2020

Ok and Is the card working fine, even during gaming?

jerryMay 11, 2020

No..I can’t get the card working.. as Win 10 given me “error 10 and insuff system resources exist to complete the API”.
Win 10 only able to detect it.